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Our Vision and Values
Our
Purpose
Desert Sky Baptist Church
exists to celebrate life with God, live life through spiritual
growth and ministry and share this life with others, and
experiencing life where there is none!
Pictures of Ministry:
There are three biblical images that describe our
ministry. It is these biblical images that give rise to our values
and our vision. Those three images are:
The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24)
 11Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons.
12
The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the
estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
13
“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set
off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild
living.
14
After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that
whole country, and he began to be in need.
15
So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who
sent him to his fields to feed pigs.
16
He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were
eating, but no one gave him anything.
17
“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired
servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!
18
I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I
have sinned against heaven and against you.
19
I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of
your hired servants.’
20
So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and
was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his
arms around him and kissed him.
21
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and
against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22
“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe
and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
23
Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and
celebrate.
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For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is
found.’ So they began to celebrate.
Luke 15:11-24
The Good
Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
25 On one occasion an expert
in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I
do to inherit eternal life?”
26
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
27He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with
all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’;
and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
28
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will
live.” 29
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my
neighbor?”
30
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was
attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and
went away, leaving him half dead.
31 A priest
happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he
passed by on the other side.
32 So too, a
Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the
other side. 33
But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he
saw him, he took pity on him.
34 He went to
him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put
the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of
him. 35
The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper.
‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you
for any extra expense you may have.’
36
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who
fell into the hands of robbers?”
37
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go
and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37
The
Samaritan Woman (John 4:4-30)
Now he had to go through
Samaria.
5 So he came
to a town in Samaria
called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son
Joseph. 6
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey,
sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7
When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will
you give me a drink?”
8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)
9
The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan
woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate
with Samaritans.) 10
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that
asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have
given you living water.” 11
“Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well
is deep. Where can you get this living water?
12 Are you
greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from
it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty
again, 14
but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed,
the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling
up to eternal life.”
15
The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get
thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16
He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17
“I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her,
“You are right when you say you have no husband.
18 The fact
is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your
husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19
“Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.
20 Our
ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the
place where we must worship is in
Jerusalem.”
21
“Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will
worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in
Jerusalem.
22 You
Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know,
for salvation is from the Jews.
23 Yet a time
is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the
Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of
worshipers the Father seeks.
24 God is
spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25
The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming.
When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26
Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”
27
Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him
talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why
are you talking with her?” 28
Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and
said to the people, 29
“Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be
the Messiah?” 30
They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
Our Values:
Our values are those ideals, principles and
standards that we hold dear among our congregation. These define who
we are and how we practice ministry.
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Jesus Christ is the Messiah, the Son of
God and salvation comes only through Him.
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The Bible is authoritative and will be
applied to all matters of Church life.
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Ministry is offered to all people in a
spirit of openness and acceptance.
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Relationships with God and with God’s
people are to be genuine and authentic.
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Grace is the guiding
principle for the church, it’s ministry and it’s
relationships.
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Experiencing spiritual healing by those
who have been battered and hurt is the ultimate ministry of
the church.
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People draw close to God in an atmosphere
of spiritual and emotional safety without condemnation.
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Every person is expected to grow in their relationship
with Christ and with the community of Faith.
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Our vision defines what it is our church
will focus on doing.
As we live out our calling, we will:
Celebrate God
through worship which is biblically sound, culturally sensitive and
relevant to the life of Jesus’ followers in a vibrant, joyful and
meaningful setting.
Promote
Christian discipleship in programming and example, through
coordinated Bible study and scripture application, challenging all
people to grow in Christ and become more like Him.
Compassionately
care for one another through regular fellowship and ministry seeking
to meet the emotional, physical, social and spiritual needs of our
congregation and community.
Actively engage
the world with the message of Jesus Christ through direct local,
national and international missions opportunities and evangelism
training and outreach opportunities.
Cultivate godly
spiritual leaders for the church and the kingdom seeking to
implement godly standards, biblical processes and redemptive
accountability through training, partnership and exercising
responsibility in a spirit of affirmation and safety.
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